Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The great American book bag.

With Elaine Robinson's Berkeley chic still at the forefront of my mind, with a closet full of fresh plaid, and with back-to-school season giving way to more holiday-centric endeavors, I find myself channeling the inner co-ed.

Like all good schoolgirls I need a new bag to carry my tattered old Gatsby (the copy I read at age sixteen, the copy with the hearts and notes scribbled between the lines). Naturally I want one that looks just like F. Scott's in which I'll schlep the first draft of my own Great American Novel:


The monogram reads:
Scott Fitzgerald
597 - 5th Ave
Disciples of Scott's will know that that is the address of his publisher Charles Scribner & Sons.

I've searched in vain for a vintage briefcase as elegantly destroyed as his was so I now crave a fresh new bag. J. Crew released a collection this season that evokes Fitzgerald's scholarly satchel, albeit with a more feminine air.

The Andi bag boasts patent straps, brass hardware, and a terrific buckle on the shoulder strap. But the suede seems a little too delicate to toss around in train cars and bookish bars.


The Campo tote's material looks to me most faithful to Scott's briefcase. I think it would age well, all scratched and stained and beaten up. The design, alas, is a just a little too minimal.


The Lexi satchel's buckles win me over. Made of Italian leather and gold-finished hardware, it would age as well as the Campo tote. And that tassel is so cheeky! It reminds me of my favorite Bass kiltie tassel loafers.

Another idea would be to steal my father's old briefcase. Throughout my childhood he carried an old oxblood leather attache with his initials stamped on the side: SWF in gold block letters. I will never know what happened to it or what secret treasures he stashed inside, but I hope someday to find out.

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